Law Commons^™

Internet Governance Is Our Shared Responsibility, Vinton Cerf, Patrick Ryan, Max Senges

Patrick T. Ryan

This essay looks at the the different roles that institutions play in the Internet governance ecosystem. We propose a model for thinking of Internet governance within the context of the layered model of the Internet. We use the example of the negotiations in Dubai in 2102 at the World Conference on International Telecommunications to show why it is important for different institutions within the governance system to focus on their areas of expertise (e.g., the ITU, ICANN, and IGF). Several areas of conflict are reviewed, such as the desire to promote more broadband infrastructure (a topic that is in the …

Indian National Bar Association (Inba) Celebrates 66th National Law Day, Amit Kumar

Amit Kumar

26th Nov 2015, New Delhi: A groundbreaking International conference on Law & Policy issues of more than 400 prominent thought Members of Parliament from India and United Kingdom, leaders, CEO's, heads of legal department, researchers, advocates, practitioners and policymakers from at least 08 countries gathered in New Delhi on 26th November 2015, energizing a global movement working to advance policy issues around the globe. Held November 26, the “International Conference on Law and Policy Issues” to commemorate the 66th National Law Day marked its hosting in India as the biggest conference of the year hosted by Indian National Bar Association. …

Regulating Interconnection (Lightly!), Daniel A. Lyons

Daniel Lyons

No abstract provided.

Cuba: Open For Business, But Media Beware, Jodi Benassi

Jodi Benassi

No abstract provided.

Amazon Didn’T Break Law By Banning Sales Of Google, Apple Streaming Players, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

Journalists And Their Secret Sources, Jamie Cameron

Jamie Cameron

Jamie Cameron, Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, on confidential sources, free press and the link to democratic values.

Confidential Sources: The Public Interest In Keeping Secrets, Brian Rogers, Kevin Donovan, Gail C. Cove, Jamie Cameron, Julian Sher

Jamie Cameron

"Confidential sources: The public interest in keeping secrets What is different about confidential newsgathering sources? Why is it in the public interest to protect these sources, and when is it more important to know who they are? How do shield laws work in the US, and who should set the rules for confidential sources -- the courts or the legislatures?"

Panelist, Recent Federal Law Changes And Their Impact On The States, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

No abstract provided.

Users' Patronage: The Return Of The Gift In The "Crowd Society", Giancarlo F. Frosio

Giancarlo Francesco Frosio

In this work, I discuss the tension between gift and market economy throughout the history of creativity. For millennia, the production of creative artifacts has lain at the intersection between gift and market economy. From the time of Pindar and Simonides – and until the Romanticism will commence a process leading to the complete commodification of creative artifacts – market exchange models run parallel to gift exchange. From Roman amicitia to the medieval and Renaissance belief that “scientia donum dei est, unde vendi non potest,” creativity has been repeatedly construed as a gift. Again, at the time of the British …

The Constitutional Considerations Of Multiple Media Ownership Regulation By The Federal Communications Commission, Jon L. Mills, John Moynahan, Richard Perlini, George Mcclure

Jon L. Mills

Promoting the dissemination of diverse ideas with a minimum of governmental interference is the goal of the first amendment in protecting free press and free media. This goal is implicit in the public interest mandate of the Communications Act of 1934. A precise balance between restraint and diversity in first amendment policy appears impossible, but the process of decision should reflect both, with deference to restraint where possible. The Federal Communication Commission's Order in Docket 18110 failed to strike such a balance; any future action regarding cross-ownership of broadcast stations by newspapers would benefit by an increased recognition of the …

Constitutional Law - Due Process Clause - The Due Process Clause Of The Fifth Amendment Requires Fair Notice Of What Violates Federal Indecency Standards, Jon L. Mills

Jon L. Mills

Casenote regarding Fed. Commc’ns Comm’n v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 132 S. Ct. 2307 (2012).

The Shaky Ground Of The Right To Be Delisted, Miquel Peguera

Miquel Peguera

It has long been discussed whether individuals should have a “right to be forgotten” online to suppress old information that could seriously interfere with their privacy and data protection rights. In the landmark case of Google Spain v AEPD, the Court of Justice of the European Union addressed the particular question of whether, under EU Data Protection Law, individuals have a right to have links delisted from the list of search results, in searches made on the basis of their name. It found that they do have this right – which can be best described as a “right to be …

The Doctrinal Toll Of "Information As Speech", Kyle Langvardt

Kyle Langvardt

The courts over the past two decades have reached a near-consensus that computer code, along with virtually every flow of data on the Internet, is “speech” for First Amendment purposes. Today, newer information technologies such as 3D printing, synthetic biology, and digital currencies promise to remake whole other spheres of non-expressive economic activity in the Internet's image. The rush to claim First Amendment protections for these non-expressive but code-dependent technologies has already begun with a lawsuit claiming First Amendment privileges for the Internet distribution of 3D-printable guns. Many similar suits will surely follow, all pursuing the common dream of a …

Commenter, Implementing Real Regulatory Reform At The Fcc, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

No abstract provided.

Games Are Not Coffee Mugs: Games And The Right Of Publicity, 29 Santa Clara Computer & High Tech. L.J. 1 (2012), William K. Ford, Raizel Liebler

William K. Ford

Are games more like coffee mugs, posters, and T-shirts, or are they more like books, magazines, and films? For purposes of the right of publicity, the answer matters. The critical question is whether games should be treated as merchandise or as expression. Three classic judicial decisions, decided in 1967, 1970, and 1973, held that the defendants needed permission to use the plaintiffs' names in their board games. These decisions judicially confirmed that games are merchandise, not something equivalent to more traditional media of expression. As merchandise, games are not like books; instead, they are akin to celebrity-embossed coffee mugs. To …

The Evolution Of Internet Service Providers From Partners To Adversaries: Tracking Shifts In Interconnection Goals And Strategies In The Internet’S Fifth Generation, Rob Frieden

Rob Frieden

At the Internet’s inception, carriers providing the bit switching and transmission function largely embraced expanding connections and users as a primary service goal. These ventures refrained from metering traffic and charging for carriage based on the assumption that traffic volumes roughly matched, or that traffic measurement was not worth the bother in light of external funding from government grants. Most Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) bartered network access through a process known as peering in lieu of metering traffic and billing for network use. As governments removed subsidies and commercial carriers invested substantial funds to build larger and faster networks, identifying …

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Questions And A Few Suggestions On How The Fcc Can Lawfully Regulate Internet Access, Rob Frieden

Rob Frieden

This paper will examine the FCC’s March, 2015 Open Internet Order with an eye to assessing whether and how the Commission can successfully defend its decision in an appellate court. On two prior occasions, the FCC failed to convince a reviewing court that proposed regulatory safeguards do not unlawfully impose common carrier duties on private carriers. The Commission now has opted to reclassify broadband Internet access as common carriage, a decision sure to trigger a third court appeal. The FCC Open Internet Order offers several, possibly contradictory, justifications for its decision to apply Title II of the Communications Act, subject …

The Answer To Trial Publicity Is A Better Question, Kevin F. Qualls

Kevin F Qualls

Free-Press/Fair-Trial contests now happen in a new media age. Judicial remedies such as change-of-venue, sequestration, jury admonitions, and gag orders were fashioned in an era that included broadcast radio and television, an emerging cable television industry, and the traditional print media of newspapers and magazines. That content was, to some degree, geographically bound and temporary. Now those judicial remedies are applied in a new media age that extends the reach of traditional media in time and space while offering interactive capability. The efficacy of these remedies is in question. This paper provides an historical overview of how judicial remedies for …

To Tell The Truth: Should Attorneys Be Directly Accountable For The Content Of Applications For New Radio And Television Broadcast Stations?, 41 Depaul L. Rev. 307 (1992), Mark E. Wojcik

Mark E. Wojcik

No abstract provided.

Toward A New Language Of Legal Drafting, Matthew Roach

Matthew Roach

Lawyers should write in document markup language just like web developers, digital publishers, scientists, and almost everyone else.

An Approach To The Regulation Of Spanish Banking Foundations, Miguel Martínez

Miguel Martínez

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the legal framework governing banking foundations as they have been regulated by Spanish Act 26/2013, of December 27th, on savings banks and banking foundations. Title 2 of this regulation addresses a construct that is groundbreaking for the Spanish legal system, still of paramount importance for the entire financial system insofar as these foundations become the leading players behind certain banking institutions given the high interest that foundations hold in the share capital of such institutions.

Panelist, Our Changing Internet And Its Regulations, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

No abstract provided.

Understand The Economics Of Cable Mergers, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

Overestimating Wireless Demand: Policy And Investment Implications Of Upward Bias In Mobile Data Forecasts, J. Armand Musey Cfa, Aalok Mehta

J. Armand Musey, CFA

In this paper, we present evidence of persistent errors in projections of wireless demand and examine the implications for wireless policy and investment. Mobile demand projections are relied upon in academic and government research and used for critically important telecommunications policy decisions, both domestically and internationally. The Federal Communications Commission, for example, used such projections to estimate a 275 MHz spectrum shortage by 2014 and featured such estimates in the U.S. National Broadband Plan as evidence for allocating additional spectrum for cellular services. The International Telecommunications Union Radiocommunication Sector endorsed in 2006 an estimate of a 1,280- to 1,720-MHz spectrum …

Net Neutrality, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

Network Neutrality And Consumer Demand For “Better Than Best Efforts” Traffic Management, Rob Frieden

Rob Frieden

This paper assesses whether and how ISPs can offer quality of service enhancements, at premium prices for full motion video, while still complying with the new rules and regulations established by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) in March, 2015. The paper explains that having made the controversial decision to reclassify all forms of Internet access as a telecommunications service, the FCC increases regulatory uncertainty. In particular, the FCC has failed to identify instances where “retail ISPs,” serving residential broadband subscribers, can offer quality of service enhancements that serve real consumer wants without harming competition and the ability of most content …

Regulating Interconnection, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

No abstract provided.

Net Neutrality Explained: The Consequences Of The Fcc's Decision To Regulate Broadband Providers, Daniel Lyons

Daniel Lyons

No abstract provided.

Right-Sizing Spectrum Auction Licenses: The Case For Smaller Geographic License Areas In The Tv Broadcast Incentive Auction, William H. Lehr Phd, J. Armand Musey Cfa

J. Armand Musey, CFA

The wireless sector is a key contributor to economic activity and growth. Over the next several years, wireless service providers are expected to invest $25 to $53 billion upgrading and expanding their networks to deploy 4G mobile broadband across the nation. All told, wireless broadband investment and the services and innovation supported by such investment are expected to add between $259 and $355 billion to US GDP each year through 2017. The Federal Communications Commission ("Commission" or "FCC") is currently designing the largest ever auction of terrestrial wireless spectrum, currently planned for late 2014 (the "Incentive Auction"). The purpose is …

Close But No Cigar: Telecommunications In Cuba, Jodi Benassi

Jodi Benassi

No abstract provided.